‘The Last of Us’ season two starts quiet but strong

By Ben Konuch

“You can’t heal something unless you’re brave enough to say it out loud.”

When “The Last of Us” premiered on HBO in 2022, it quickly became one of the most well-received video game adaptations of all time. Following a harrowing journey across a violent post-apocalyptic America, HBO’s “The Last of Us” focused more on the human drama of loss, grief and love than it did on action. Anchored by stellar lead performances by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, the series was able to effectively translate one of gaming’s greatest stories into television format, using small changes in presentation and storytelling to help the plot, themes and characterizations shine through without a game’s interactivity. 

As “The Last of Us” is one of my favorite games and stories across media, I adored HBO’s first season, which covered the entirety of the first game. When HBO announced a second season covering the first half of “The Last of Us: Part II,” I was equally thrilled and apprehensive. 

While I think I may love the second game more than the first, it released with a myriad of major leaks that generated outrage and frustration at the direction of the story that persisted even once players got a chance to play it themselves. Paired with my own slight critiques of the first season’s weaknesses, specifically in the small changes that made the world feel a bit less violent and oppressive than the game’s counterpart, I was unsure how “The Last of Us” season two would fare.

The premiere of the sophomore outing from “The Last of Us” starts out quietly compared to the first season’s tense and explosive premiere, but I think that was largely for the best. This episode has an extremely memorable sequence of action and tension, but it also rearranges the order of certain scenes from the game to give us more time getting to know season two’s newcomers before the approaching storm hits. The final result is an episode that primes all the pieces for this season before the next episode starts to move them around the board, and while not every change or addition hits the mark, the final result is a great episode that makes me eager to see the story unfold.

This episode opens with a new character, a former Firefly named Abbie, vowing vengeance on Joel for what he did to them. The rest of the episode then jumps ahead to five years after the ending of season one, Ellie and Joel are firmly settled in the thriving Jackson community. However, their relationship is far from the happy ending that many hoped for, as Ellie and Joel seem estranged from each other. New characters Dina and Jesse join Ellie as she goes on patrols to help keep Jackson safe, keeping the secret of her immunity hidden. But when a chance encounter with a mysterious new type of infected occurs, Ellie and Dina bring word to Jackson that the tides may be changing – although they have no idea how grave their warning really is.

I love a lot of this episode, especially its set design, cinematography and character performances. Jackson feels vibrant and full of life in spite of the hell around it, and the snippets we see of its inner workings give a realistic depiction of society rebuilding – and the closest thing to normalcy for Joel and Ellie. The areas outside of Jackson, specifically the abandoned supermarket Ellie and Dina wander into, feel properly oppressive and decrepit, contrasting themes of life and death even in the environments The action sequence here was also a step above last season’s in terms of directing and tension, leaving me hopeful that the action for the series will be a step up.

I also think Isabela Merced as Dina and Young Mazino as Jesse are going to be the heart and soul of this season. Although we’ve only gotten just one episode with each of them, both channel their respective characters effortlessly, and Merced in my opinion lends valuable characterization and likability to Dina that even transcends her game equivalent. I really appreciated this episode restructuring events to give us more time with these characters in a relatively peaceful context, including new scenes that create important connections, such as a conversation between Joel and Dina that showcases a friendship and a sequence where Joel is forced to confront his past with a therapist.

However, some of the shifting of chronology doesn’t always work in the episode’s favor, either. I liked the early introduction of Abbie and the idea to provide some of her motivation, but the opening scene was far too blunt and lacked any subtlety, something that the game handled far better. I understand that her introduction has to change with the medium this story is told through, but only time will tell if this episode revealed too much too quickly both with Abbie and the Jackson crew.

In short, the premiere of “The Last of Us” season 2 was a great setup to the season’s new characters and the ways its returning cast has changed with time. It may not have had any spectacular opening or bombastic setpieces, but it leaned into the story’s greatest strength – its emotional connection with its characters – and prepped audiences for the wild ride to come. Every change may not have been perfect, and some of them may be hard to judge until a few episodes where we get to see the payoff, but I can’t wait for wherever the journey leads.

I give episode 1 of season 2 a score of 8/10

“The Last of Us” season 2 is now streaming on Max

Ben Konuch is a senior Strategic Communication student who serves as a writer for Cedars A&E and as their social media lead. He enjoys getting sucked into good stories, playing video games and swing dancing in the rain.

Images courtesy of HBO